Disclaimer: I do not own any characters or creations from Rurouni Kenshin. But I do share ownership of the original characters with other authors/readers. There's my disclaimer, so… have a nice day… or night.
The Black Sakura Book I – The Birth of Warriors – By Cherry Chibi
Chapter Five
~*~ 1/ The Black Sakura ~*~
Six days had passed. Kaoru woke up early in the morning. The room was unusually cold but she felt comfortable with it. She crawled out from the covers and stood to stretch. She smiled when she saw Battousai resting peacefully on the other side of her room. Over the six days and nights, she had gotten to know Shinta and Battousai better. She had worked out that Shinta would be awake during the day but rest during the night but Battousai was the opposite.
Kaoru folded up her futon and blankets and placed them in the corner of the room. She stood and exited the room. The building was quiet. Kaoru picked up and unwelcome scent and she frowned.
She walked through the halls. When she reached the dojo, she found Jacqueline, Yahiko, Tsubame, Hitoshizuku, Shakaku and Maya lying on the dojo floor unconscious. Immediately, Kaoru felt her heart sink into the pits of her stomach. She recognised that scent.
"Miyu!" She ran from the dojo into the yard. "Tory!" She stopped at the doorway of the main building. "Ian!" When she ran inside into their bedroom, she found Shinta coughing up blood at the edge of the room. "Shinta," Kaoru rushed to him and gripped his shoulders. "What's wrong?"
Shinta was gripping his stomach, "She-she took them…" He gritted his teeth. "I-I couldn't stop her…" Then he collapsed. Kaoru grabbed a blanket and wrapped it around Shinta's form.
Kaoru stood and ran out of the room. Laughter rang through the halls; bouncing off the walls and particles in the air.
"You're too late…"
Kaoru reached the yard and found three small limp bodies floating in the air. Her eyes widened with cold, burning anger and tears. That scent, it was blood. She looked at the three children helplessly. A woman in white appeared in the centre.
"You took your time didn't you?" Tomoe said mockingly, "You couldn't even protect these three measly orphans." She held out her hands and levitated the children's head to face Kaoru. Faces; pale with fear painted over them. Eyes; cold, lifeless, pleading.
"I'm…" Kaoru dropped to her knees swollen in grief. "…sorry…" She started crying. "I'm sorry…" How couldn't she pick up their cries for help? Why didn't she wake up after Tomoe stepped into her dojo?
Miyu, Tory and Ian's corpses fell onto the ground. Tomoe grinned evilly and laughed. "What use are you? How can you even bring peace if you can't even protect those who are close to you?" Tomoe strolled towards Kaoru and then gripped Kaoru's neck. Tomoe called in a chalice that held a thick liquid in it. She pressed the chalice against Kaoru's lips and poured in half of its contents. "Do you taste it? Do you taste their blood? Doesn't it taste so wonderful when you can feel their fear?"
Kaoru spat the liquid out, choking from cries of grief. She glared at Tomoe; the woman drank from the chalice. Kaoru couldn't say anything. What was there to say? She couldn't do anything to save them. She was too late.
"Do yourself a favour," Tomoe said, "Leave while you can or else you will regret it." She vanished.
Kaoru forced herself to stand on her shaky legs and walked to the three corpses. As soon as she reached them she fell. She levitated the three bodies and stood. "I'm… sorry that I couldn't protect you…" As she walked, the corpses were floating before her.
~*~ 2/ Oniwabanshuu ~*~
Misao picked up a very strong ki while walking through the woods with her friends. 'The ki is familiar…' She thought as she tried harder to identify it.
"Misao, look!" Celeste pointed to the dojo building a distance away. "We're almost there!" Celeste felt relieved. They had been walking with only short breaks in between.
"I smell something…" Orion interjected. She growled. "… there's Cold-Blood Blossoms." She frowned. "Who would want to plant them here?" She looked at the horrified faces.
(A/N: Cold-Blood Blooms are dark, blood red flowers which grow on a grave of someone who had died a ferocious, unrequited death. But they only grow in hell so seeing them on normal land would be very rare. The reasons to why Misao and the others are so horrified will be answered as the story goes on.)
"There could only one person who could plant that many of them and still survive right?" Kari said, "Because she's over there." The woman gestured to their right a distance away.
The group spotted a small built, young women kneeling on the dirt in an area where looked like no one could step upon. Misao recognised her and rushed towards her but a barrier prevented her from getting any closer. "Kaoru!"
~*~ 3/ The Black Sakura ~*~
The dirt blackened as Kaoru planted the small, dark, blood red blossoms. She patted the dirt around them. There were fifty blossoms blooming close together. All of the grass and any natural matter burned and turned into black dirt around them. Kaoru closed her eyes and remembered what her Guardian had told her when she was a very young girl. 'If you sing to the blossoms right, they'll tell you who had died…' Kaoru thought. She recalled the song of grief and departure that had been sung at her Guardian's funeral.
Life is always young,
How many shall shed,
A pure blood,
Tears of those who part,
Shall never be forgotten,
Until we next meet,
Let your souls fly,
In the wind of time…
~*~ 4/ Oniwabanshuu ~*~
The Oniwabanshuu women blocked their ears. The song, a high pitched melody that no one could hear except for vampires, werewolves and the Oniwabanshuu because they were trained to hear even the most silent creatures.
The high notes really made their ears sore. It wasn't sung by Kaoru but by the blossoms themselves. It seemed like a curse on the land. Now that Kaoru has planted them, they will forever sing the haunting song until the day that the unrequited deaths have been paid for.
"Who died I wonder…" Misao said between clenched teeth.
The others nodded.
* * * *
Aoshi was disturbed from his meditation by a very faint melody that he could sense through Misao. He had known for a while that he had a special connection with Misao telekinetically or spiritually but he could have never explained why. 'She must be there now… Misao… be careful…'
* * * *
Misao closed her eyes. A breathy whisper soothed her ears. A familiar voice. She smiled. After a while, she stood with her friends and made eye contact with Kaoru. "Kaoru!"
"Misao?" Kaoru said dully, her reddened eyes were sore. "I've had… a bad morning…" Kaoru walked towards her dojo. "Would you like to come inside?"
She didn't know what to say. Kaoru looked dreadful. Blood stained her jaw line. Dirt covered her hands, clothing and smeared her face. "Kaoru, you don't look so good…" Misao touched Kaoru's shoulder but quickly withdrew it. She looked at her fingertips. Kaoru's skin burned. Not because it was hot. It was deadly cold. Worries filled Misao's mind as well as doubt.
"I'm very much alive Misao." Kaoru said, "I'm just… annoyed."
~*~ 5/ The Black Sakura ~*~
Every one was seated around a table in the dojo. Silence was coated in the atmosphere. Kaoru wasn't there yet. They were eating silently. The Oniwabanshuu women were nervous around the others. They felt like they didn't belong and they still didn't know who died.
"I'm sorry if you don't feel so welcome this morning," Maya said to Misao. Her blue eyes were showing deep wounds in her soul. "This morning… wasn't good at all… excuse me." She stood and rushed out of the dojo.
"Maya!" Hitoshizuku stood but then sat down again. "I can't believe that I'd miss them all this much." She covered her face with her hands. "They didn't deserve any of this…"
Shakaku, his aura was filled with hate. Burning rage that seemed to boil inside of him. His jet black hair was ruffled up and his red eyes weren't hiding anything. He was stroking Hitoshizuku's back and muttering soft comforting words to her.
"I'm gonna go and see if Tsubame is alright," Yahiko said while standing. "She isn't taking it well." He left the room.
* * * *
Tsubame was crying her eyes out in the bedroom where the children used to stay. She should have been able to do something. She should've forced her way to Tomoe and not let the others shield her as if she was a weakling. Tsubame felt like she had failed so many times but this time, it was the worst.
She heard a soft knock and turned her head. Yahiko entered the room.
"Tsubame, the others are at the hall." Yahiko said softly.
"I know." Tsubame sniffled. "Can you please leave me alone?" She wiped her eyes with the sleeve of her kimono. "I don't think that I can handle anything anymore." She flapped open her black feathery wings and then snapped them shut.
Yahiko shook his head. "Look, you can't stay this way. It wasn't your fault that they died. I couldn't do a thing." Yahiko said. He walked to Tsubame and took her hand. He helped her stand. "If everyone blamed themselves for things that they couldn't stop, how would they continue life?"
Tsubame nodded to show that she was listening. "B-but, I-,"
"Come on, we have to get something to eat. By the looks of it, you're going to pass out if you don't eat something." Yahiko tried to cheer her up with a bit of humour. He was satisfied when she smiled weakly.
* * * *
Shinta couldn't get any emotion or reaction from Kaoru. She was sitting on her window ledge staring out to space. She had been like this all day. He was beginning to think that Kaoru was descending into the depths of the Twisted World of the Abyss. A world where there was no return.
"Kaoru…" He tried to reach her again. Suddenly, Kaoru closed her eyes and an energy surge passed to him. He heard her soft whispery voice.
"I can't tell you how I feel, I'll show you…"
Shinta closed his lavender eyes and leaned against the window ledge for support. Then, he felt it all and it was smothering him. He couldn't bear the weight of it but he forced himself to accept it all. He wanted to feel what she had felt in the morning. Tears were drawn to his eyes and his muscles were failing him. Then finally, he felt the most impacting words…
"How can you bring peace if you can't even protect the ones close to you?"
Shinta felt knives stab into his soul and then pushed deeper. Scars which hurt more than anything that he had ever felt. When it was done, he eased his eyes open and understood why Kaoru acted the way she did.
"How can I bring peace?" Kaoru asked. She leaned her head against the window frame. Tears shone in the late afternoon sunlight.
"It takes time," Shinta said. "But you have to be at peace with yourself first."
Kaoru turned to him crying again. "Did you know that if you sing to the Cold-Blood Blossoms in the right way, they'll tell you who died?" She sobbed out of control. "I only planted three… I sung to them…" She held onto Shinta's shoulders. "I saw another 47 who died today… 47 innocent beings… Kindred… Beasts and Humans… they were all murdered…"
Shinta embraced Kaoru and shielded her from the cold air. He allowed her to cry into his shoulder. 'You will find a way to bring peace Kaoru…'
Kaoru felt so messy on the inside. She had taken the day to clear up her feelings. But she felt tainted still because of the blood that was forced to touch her lips. She looked up to Shinta with a gentle smile. She was grateful that Shinta was there to comfort her. She hadn't admitted it to anyone yet, she loved him and Battousai. However, it was hard to admit feelings like that because she was afraid that she would be wrong.
~*~ 6/ Shadows ~*~
Athena, Ixchel and Soujiro were sitting on the tree tops watching Kaoru's Dojo. Hiko and Battousai had summoned them to watch the dojo since Tomoe's attack. Death's Truth was getting closer to the Black Sakura and they didn't like it. Now they were assigned to protect the dojo.
"The dojo must be pretty big to have so many people staying there." Athena said. Her brown hair was being teased by the wind.
"Where's Ayame?" Soujiro asked.
"Where's who?" Athena asked. She didn't know anyone named Ayame.
"Where's Surreal?" Soujiro said again. He couldn't see her in the tree tops at all.
Ixchel shrugged. "Why should I care?" She said coolly. Her tri-coloured eyes held a bored expression. "It's not like that girl is part of Shadows anyway."
Soujiro ignored Ixchel's comments and scanned around, he soon spotted Surreal on the ground crouching over something. He levitated downwards. "Aren't you supposed to be up there?" He asked.
"I know, but shouldn't you show your respects when you pass a new grave?" Surreal asked. She placed a red rose beside the Cold-Blood Blossoms but it immediately vanished into black dirt.
"But people die everyday." Soujiro said. He was focussing on Surreal; he could see the wind blowing her mid-back, black hair, her violet-lavender eyes were shining with hints of amber.
"You don't understand do you?" Surreal asked, "How many graves do you pass and find a small field of Cold-Blood Blossoms blooming like this?" She stood and took steps back from the small field.
Soujiro finally noticed the dark red blossoms.
"Three children had died today." Surreal said. "I can sense it."
~*~ 7/ Oniwabanshuu ~*~
Misao was sneaking into a room. She had spotted him - Battousai. She wanted to get this over with as soon as she could so that she could get rid of the body and then continue with her tasks.
She took out a poison kunai and prepared to exterminate the unaware Battousai lying in his futon. She was about to aim it straight at his neck when suddenly, she felt a blade press against her neck.
"I don't think trying to kill my other half is a good idea," Battousai warned. "For Kaoru's sake, I won't eliminate you but if I see you try to do anything like that again, I will kill you and your other friends." He sheathed his sword. His amber eyes flared angrily. "Go back to where you are staying."
"You're only a danger to Kaoru." Misao said.
"I am serving her." Battousai said coldly. "I wouldn't do anything to take her power or use her."
"Really?" Misao said.
"The one that you should be protecting Kaoru from is Death's Truth." Battousai said. "Now, I'll give you three seconds to leave this room."
Misao glared at him and then walked out of room. She was still in awe about the fact that there was two of him.
~*~ 8/ Revolution ~*~
Jay was walking on the track with Sanosuke, Miena and Ina. They all decided to leave the mountains for a while since they felt that there was an odd combination of powers meeting in one place. Ina however, decided to come because along the way she was going to go back to her regions in the northern lands to rule.
The group stopped.
Ina sighed. "Well, this is where we go different directions." She smiled warmly at the others. "I hope that you guys will come to visit me sometime soon." The fox/dog demon was hugged by Miena and Jay.
"We'll definitely come to visit you!" Jay said.
"Yeah! Just make sure that you're ready!" Miena added.
Sanosuke shook hands with Ina. "I'll come flying around someday."
"Alright, farewell." Ina smiled. Then she walked into the shadows of a path leading to a hidden secret place which would take her to her kingdom.
After awhile, the three remaining decided to continue with their journey. They were going to reach Kaoru's dojo and find out what's happening.
Jay looked up to the sky and frowned. "Sano, Miena, I think that we should stop now." The skies were turning pitch black.
"Why?" Sanosuke asked.
Miena looked up to the sky and frowned as well. "The Black Moon…"
"Oh," Sanosuke then grabbed Miena and Jay around the waists and started flying. "Then we better get moving!" His large brown feathery wings opened out to full wing-span.
~*~ 9/ Death's Truth ~*~
Tomoe prepared the altar and smirked. "Little Black Sakura would be too weak to resist this curse…" She lit the black candles with a tongue of flame. It was rare that anyone would be able to do the curse which Tomoe was about to do. 'If I succeed, I will be able to get rid of the Black Sakura, and stop Battousai's chance of ever being able to combine with his other half.'
Suddenly, everything darkened except for the candle lights.
~*~ 10/ The Black Sakura ~*~
Kaoru looked up to the sky. The Black Moon. There wasn't a single star in the sky. The skies were pitch black and so were her surroundings. Something didn't feel right. She felt weak suddenly and her head was spinning. She started hearing words mocking her almost but they were chaining her soul. She realised what those words formed and tried to move away from them. She couldn't avoid them.
'No!' Kaoru screamed in her mind. She felt her powers leak from her body. She felt her muscles weaken. She collapsed onto the floor.
Misao entered the room and could just see Kaoru on the floor. She rushed to her best friend. "Kaoru! Wake up!" She shook her friend by the shoulders. She checked Kaoru's breathing. 'She's alive…'
In the depth of the darkness, Kaoru could hear the mockery. She could hear the chanting. 'I won't let Tomoe take advantage of me!' Kaoru decided that there was only one thing that she could do – divide her current strength among her allies and give up her age.
Winds of time…
Gather and swirl…
Chains of time…
Tie thee to youth…
A point of no return…
No way out of thou haze…
~*~ 11/ Shadows ~*~
Surreal leaned against the tree trunk. Her head was throbbing. 'I've got… to… get down…' The sounds of chanting were swirling in her mind. The others also heard the chanting.
"Ayame, you alright?" Soujiro asked. He stood from his sitting position. Athena and Ixchel were looking at her with unsureness.
"Get… me… down…" Surreal said. Then she blacked out and fell.
"Ayame!" Soujiro levitated and swiftly caught her before she fell onto the ground. Athena had followed suit. When they landed on the ground, they were amazed as Surreal slowly looked like she aged a year. She grew slightly taller and her hair grew longer. "What's happening?"
"Looks like Tomoe's curse also has side affects to others around the one who her curse is aimed at." Athena saw a black sakura mark form on Surreal's shoulder blade on her back. Then she saw two sharp points appear on Surreal's forearms near the shoulder area. "Soujiro! Move!"
Ixchel grabbed Soujiro by the shoulders and pulled him away from Surreal. Athena quickly backed away and suddenly, two sharp blades bursted out of Surreal's upper forearms. Blood coated the blades.
The three of them looked at Surreal in amazement. "Looks like Surreal isn't sixteen anymore… she's seventeen…" Athena said.
"What do you mean?" Soujiro asked her. Ixchel also had curiosity etched over her expression.
"I've seen something like this before, Tomoe is trying to attempt the reversing curse, a curse which changes the age of a person. But because we were nearby the person who the curse was aimed at, it has slightly affected us but it has affected Surreal the most out of us four." Athena explained, "Not only is she a year older but I think that she was about to become a full strength warrior at the age of seventeen."
Surreal woke up with a scream.
~*~ 12/ Revolution ~*~
Sanosuke landed on the ground near the front door of the dojo. Miena was suddenly covered by a white aura. She started aging as well. She grew taller and her hair grew longer.
"Miena…" Jay started but she staggered back when a wave of energy was absorbed into her body. "Argh!"
Sanosuke endured the pain as more energy absorbed into his body. He felt himself grow stronger.
"What's going on?" Miena asked. She used her powers and scanned through her own body. She almost choked, "How can I be seventeen????"
~*~ 13/ The Black Sakura ~*~
Misao gaped at Kaoru. She wasn't a seventeen year old girl anymore. Misao realised that Kaoru was thirteen years old. "Oh no… what happened?" Misao checked for any wounds on Kaoru but found nothing.
She looked out the window and found the stars slowly one by one return to the night sky.
Battousai rushed into the room and found a young Kaoru lying limp on the floor. "I can't do a thing…" He seemed angry at himself.
Misao laid Kaoru in her futon. "Battousai, do you know what happened?"
Battousai growled. "Tomoe has cursed her."
Misao looked at Kaoru, "She's… younger…"
"And she won't remember anyone who wasn't with her when she was thirteen." Battousai added. He leaned against the wall. It was going to be hard. He knew it. He could feel Shinta's feelings. They both were in love with a thirteen year old. He gritted his teeth. His going to have to wait.
She stood and looked sympathetically at Battousai. Misao recognise that aura coming from Battousai. She didn't say a thing. She left the room and slid the shouji door closed.
~*~ 14/ Death's Truth ~*~
Tomoe cursed under her breath. How can she underestimate the little bitch again?! She should've been able to turn Kaoru into a merely weak 4 year old.
"Doesn't matter, she's thirteen. She's still going to be weaker. I'll manage to take the girl and I'll have to perform the ceremony personally on her." Tomoe growled. She had lost a lot of energy doing that curse. Now she'll have to wait until she recovers and she knew that the process was going to take a very, very long time.
~*~ 15/ The Black Sakura ~*~
Two Kaoru's walked side by side on a path to the Black Sakura tree. Then the two of them stopped.
"Only one of us can go there isn't that right?" The smaller Kaoru asked.
"Yes." The older Kaoru said.
"So who should it be?" Small Kaoru asked. She knew that she didn't belong to the Black Sakura since Older Kaoru was much more experienced than her.
"You." Older Kaoru said.
"But why?" Younger Kaoru asked.
"I have too many hurtful memories and it's nice to start over again with good people." Older Kaoru said, she smiled at younger Kaoru, "Your close friends are the Oniwabanshuu, Revolution and Shadows. There are a few other queens who will also be friends with you. Battousai and Shinta are two people yet they are the same person. Just be careful with Battousai."
Younger Kaoru nodded. "I think I'd like Batty,"
Older Kaoru laughed gently. "I think you will. Now, you better go to the Black Sakura Tree to regain your powers. Farewell."
"Bye-bye."
Older Kaoru watched as her younger self ran to the tree. She was slightly confused. It was like she was dieing and yet it felt as if she was still going to live. "Even if I disappear, my younger self will still feel close to whoever I felt close to." Older Kaoru turned and stepped into the Dark Abyss. There, she ceased to exist.
~*~
A/N: Sorry for the late update guys and gals! But this school term for me is going to be stuffed up because I've got heaps of tests, exams and assignments and stuff to do. -
Nee-chan: No need for apologies. Anyway, someone was going to ask some time for a character list thing and I knew it. So don't worry. I don't get offended easily and I don't call any one of my reviewers annoying. *thumbs up* Thanks for keeping up my fics! *Hugz* You're one of the best!
Ewunia: I agree that I should update more often but now that workloads are getting bigger, I'm getting restricted so can't do much about that. *bows* sorry. Anyways! Thanks for your lovely reviews!
Moonlight's Sorrow: Well, you're right about Tomoe there but what I have in plan is gonna (hopefully) surprise you. *winks* Thanks for keeping up and giving feedback! ^-^x
RKKL: You sent me a message asking about Sano right? *grins evilly* I have a plan that has just taken place so just wait a couple of chapters k? But do you mind if you only have Sano for this first fic only? And… Oh, just out of curiosity, when are you gonna update your fics?
Litto Grrl Stephie: Thanks for the review! ^-^ You're fics rule you no dat?
Aglaia102: Thanks for reading! Hope you liked this chapter.
^-^ Now, just for the sake of my readers, I'm starting to reconsider some of my ideas for this fic so one of these are, *cringes* I hate being mean. I may have to be forced into killing off or relinquishing characters. But, those who are 'relinquished' will be back sometime in the next two books.
Until next time!
~ Cherry Chibi